Joint associations of leisure screen time and physical activity with academic performance in a sample of Japanese children

Studies have shown the potential effects of sedentary behavior and physical activity on not only physical and mental health but also academic performance in children. Nevertheless, studies have only focused on either sedentary behavior or physical activity. Examining the joint effects of both behaviors on academic performance provides detailed insights into the patterns of these behaviors in relation to children’s academic achievement. The present study investigated the joint longitudinal associations of physical activity and screen time with academic performance among Japanese children. The screen time and physical activity of 261 children aged 7–10 years were assessed, and their academic performance was evaluated one year later. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the joint associations of screen time and physical activity with academic performance adjusted for demographic characteristics. Children with low screen time and physical activity had 2.04 (95% confidence interval: 1.11–3.78) times greater odds of having high academic performance compared to children with high screen time and low physical activity, while children with low screen time and high physical activity had 2.75 (1.17–6.43) times greater odds (boys; 4.12 (1.19–14.24)). Low screen time was related to high academic performance after one year, regardless of the physical activity level

運動部活動顧問の時間的・精神的・経済的負担の定量化

Considering the benefits of participating in school-based extracurricular sports activities (SBECSA), providing active SBECSA is important. However, heavy burden on teachers in coaching and management of SBECSA has been reported. Additionally, appropriate allowance and role allotment have not been discussed enough. It is necessary to understand the quality and quantity of task-related burdens in coaching and managing SBECSA to promote discussion. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to quantify the temporal, psychological, and economic burdens on teachers in coaching and management of SBECSA. The present study used a mixed-methods approach. Firstly, a semi-structured interview was conducted to clarify the contents of tasks about coaching and management of SBECSA. Participants were 12 teachers who work in junior high school or high school. All interview data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Through the recording process, 26 contents of SBECSA tasks were grouped. Secondly, a self-completed questionnaire survey was conducted. 200 junior high schools and 200 high schools were recruited. Seventy-three schools agreed to cooperate in the study, and 361 SBECSA teachers answered the questionnaire. Question items were as follows: yearly hours taken for each of the 26 tasks, psychological burdens to do each of the 26 tasks, and yearly expenditure for coaching and management of SBECSA. As results, exact temporal burden for each of the 26 tasks was examined. On average, SBECSA teachers were spending approximately 1,400 hours a year for coaching and management. Regarding psychological burden, there were some tasks which were highly perceived although the temporal burdens were comparatively low. SBECSA teachers were payed approximately 136,000 yen a year to coach and manage SBECSA. In conclusion, SBECSA teachers assumed various tasks for management other than direct coaching. Contents of tasks would affect psychological burden as well as temporal length. Additionally, heavy individual payment for coaching and management of SBECSA was revealed. Increasing support for SBECSA coaching and management is necessary to decrease teachers’ burden and promote youth sports

学齢期の組織的スポーツ参加と成人期のスポーツ参与の関連 : 回顧的データに基づく持ち越し効果の検討

Recently, the carry-over of physical fitness or physical activity from childhood to adulthood has been actively discussed. However, the carry-over effect of participation in organized sports is not well understood, despite the fact that organized sports participation has a number of positive effects on physical, mental, and social aspects. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to clarify the association of organized sports participation during school age with organized sports participation and sports volunteer participation in adulthood. The data was secondarily obtained from “nationwide questionnaire research for promotion of sports activities according to the life stage” conducted by the National Recreation Association of Japan. This research was conducted with 1,200 Japanese adults (612 males and 588 females) who were 20-39 years old. Path Analysis was conducted with respect to each sex. Regarding association of organized sports participation in school-age with organized sports participation in adulthood, participation in elementary school was related to that of junior high school, participation in junior high school was related to that of high school and adulthood, and participation in high school was related to that of adulthood in males. By contrast, in females, participation in elementary school was related to that of junior high and high school, participation in junior high school was related to that of high school and adulthood, and participation in high school was related to that of adulthood. With respect to association of organized sports participation in school-age with sports volunteer participation in adulthood, only organized sports participation in high school was affected in males, and only organized sports participation in junior high school was affected in females. There is a possibility that participation in organized youth sports has a carry-over effect for adult sports involvement. In order to promote organized sports participation and sports volunteer participation in adulthood, enhancing organized sports participation in school-age would be valuables